Meeran Haider said that his name is neither in the charge sheet filed regarding the secret meeting in Chandbagh, nor is he seen at the protest site in any CCTV footage.

Delhi riot accused Meeran Haider said on Monday (November 3, 2025) that Sharjeel Imam should not have been allowed at protest sites during the 2020 anti-Citizenship Amendment Act ( CAA ) protests. He said that he had specifically objected to this at the time. Haider argued for bail that he was not involved in any conspiracy to incite riots. He argued that he himself objected to Sharjeel Imam's presence, so how could he be part of any conspiracy?

According to a Bar & Bench report, Meeran Haider said that the allegation that he was involved in the conspiracy of riots with Sharjeel Imam is wrong. The Supreme Court has been hearing the bail petitions of Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid , Meeran Haider, and Gulfisha Fatima , accused in the 2020 Delhi riots, since last week. Meeran Haider's lawyer,  Siddharth Agarwal , told the bench of Justices Arvind Kumar and NV Anjaria that his client had himself questioned Sharjeel Imam's presence at the protest sites, so how could he be accused of being involved in the conspiracy?

He said, " The allegation is that I (Haider) was involved in a conspiracy with Sharjeel Imam. I tweeted that this man, whose name is Sharjeel Imam, should not be allowed to go to protest sites. I am not visible in the CCTV footage from the riots . " The petitioner 's lawyer also said that Haider is not in the photo of the secret meeting in Chandbagh shared by the prosecution .

Responding to these arguments by Meeran Haider, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta , representing the prosecution, said that the person in the photograph is not clearly visible. Meeran Haider's lawyer also pointed out that his client's name is not mentioned in the charge sheet regarding the Chand Bagh meeting. It only names Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam.

In 2020, protests against the CAA erupted in various parts of the country.  Violence erupted in Delhi during this period. Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid , Meeran Haider, and Gulfisha Fatima have been charged with conspiring to incite riots. In its affidavit, the Delhi Police told the Supreme Court that these riots were not spontaneous but a deliberate conspiracy. The police claim that these riots were planned to effect a change of power at the center .